Lazy Summer Days
by BirdG
Summary: Al watched as she swallowed the sliver of ice that was left and licked the water off her hand.


**Author's Notes:** Written as a gift for the Rarepair_shorts Summer Wishlist Event on LJ.

* * *

"Blimey, I'm so bored I wanna scream," Rose groaned, lips red and swollen from the ice cube she was sucking on. Al watched as she swallowed the sliver of ice that was left and licked the water off her hand. Sometime around her third ice cube, he had stopped feeling bad about this. Rose didn't notice and if she did, she didn't mind. Besides, there was nothing better to do. Scorpius was off on holiday with his parents as were most of their cousins and even their siblings had found somewhere better to be.

They were sitting out in the garden at her house, trying to find some relief from the oppressive August heat. The Cooling Charms her mum had cast had long ago worn off and the house was stifling, so they went outside where at least there was a breeze. While the large oak tree they sat under protected them from the sun, it did nothing for the humidity that seemed to blanket them.

Rose stood abruptly and - despite enjoying being knee-level with her and looking at her long, bare legs - he did the same.

"Let's go to Shell Cottage."

"That lot is off on holiday."

"I know that but they live by the sea," she answered, redoing her ponytail. "It'll be something to do at any rate."

***

Since no one would be home at Shell Cottage, they had to Floo to the nearby Post Office. The smell of more than a dozen owls stuck in a cramped space on a hot day was almost enough to bring Al to his knees. He pulled his shirt up to cover his nose and hurried out the door after Rose. Being outside was better but not much.

They walked over a mile to reach their destination only to realize upon arrival that in their haste to escape the heat, they had forgotten their bathing suits.

"I'm still going swimming," Rose huffed, slipping the straps of her breezy white sundress down. Al stared in amazement as she stood in front of him in her white bra and light blue knickers. Somehow it seemed different then when she wore her bikini. Her hands went up to rest at her hips and he was reminded of his aunt. "Are you going to undress or are just going to watch me like a pervert?"

"Right, yeah." While undressing wouldn't help the problem that had just come up, being immersed in cold water would. Waiting until Rose began wading into the sea, he stripped down to his boxers and followed her.

The feel of the cold water surrounding him wasn't just a relief, it was pure pleasure. For the first time all day Al felt like he could breathe. In fact, he had just inhaled the salty sea air when Rose splashed him, leaving him coughing and spluttering.

"You bloody cow!"

Rose laughed and before she could swim away, he grabbed her around the shoulders and pulled her under the water with him. They passed the time like that - horsing around, each trying to dunk each other or splash the other when they weren't expecting it - until they were both red-eyed and tired.  
He had almost forgotten the thoughts about his cousin that had been chasing him all day when Rose decided to float on her back. Even from a couple feet away he could tell that the water had had the expected effect on the thin white cotton of her bra and that the cold had only made it more obvious. She turned her head towards him and he looked away, glancing up again to see that her eyes were closed.

"You keep staring at me."

Or maybe not."

"Do not," he muttered, looking down at the water. God, he hoped she wouldn't tell her parents about this. It's not like it was that weird, wizards still married their cousins. Although according to his Uncle Ron, 'only the barmy ones obsessed with blood purity.' And why was he even thinking about marriage? He was just reacting the way most sixteen-year old boys would around a pretty and (more importantly) nearly-naked girl.

He heard the splash of water and looked up to see Rose standing in front of him, her skin pale from the cold and her auburn hair clinging to her shoulders. She reminded him of the mermaid painting in the Prefect's Bath.

"I don't mind, you know," she said softly.

Al looked up in surprise and, with a small smile playing at her lips, Rose leaned in and kissed him.


End file.
